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Half of Americans struggle to afford groceries and gas, exclusive poll finds

I’m no economist, but that seems less than ideal

America’s missing middle: The shrinking 45-64 population

At the end of the day the numbers are what they are, but it doesn’t seem like people would have such a hard time finding a non-entry level job if there was a shortage of people age 45-64. It should be a middle age golden age, and that’s just not happening. Which is odd

More Stories Below, but first some new content in the News Sidequest Podcast Universe…

Auditory Anthology

SCI-FI SHORT STORIES - NARRATED BY DARREN MARLAR & PRODUCED BY KEITH CONRAD

Tales From the Blue Line - The Crossing Guard - A mother’s attempt to file a simple thank-you note for her son’s longtime crossing guard unravels into a mystery that reveals a protective presence who has been guiding generations of students safely across the street, long after her official retirement—and her death.

Tales From The Blue Line: Every morning at three, Mason and Ally ride the Blue Line into downtown Chicago together. The train brings out its own brand of weird, which has led to Mason and Ally trading spooky stories to help their commute pass a little faster.

Tales From the Blue Line - The Crossing Guard Keith Conrad / Darren Marlar Episode

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Also Worth A Look…

• Speaking Another Language Could Slow Aging in the Brain - You could learn a language or go full J.R.R Tolkien and go ahead and invent your own language

• US airlines are redesigning travel around their highest-paying passengers - It seems like my whole life I’ve been hearing about how great flying used to be. Well, now if you’re willing to pay for it, you can have that experience… or at least something closer to it. If you just want to get there, you can just pay for that. Always nice to have options

• Scientists want to quarantine alien life on the Moon before it reaches Earth - Telling our new visitors “We think you’re too icky and you need to stay over there on the Moon for a while” should get things off to a fantastic start

• Gen Z is taking group trips. Many say their friends aren’t paying them back - Listen, it’s not ideal, but if you pay for something on a trip you should probably just assume that money is gone

• Woman Caught On Camera Digging Up Plants Outside Mall Then Driving Off. And She Is Apparently a Repeat Plant Thief They Can’t Seem to Stop - Of all the things to steal, why would you go after plants? You could just buy seeds and have your own plants eventually. Also, it’s a mall, they must have some of those ink tag things they could put on the plants

• Every Lawn Mow Could Wipe Out Thousands of Insects in Your Yard - Think of the bugs and just let your lawn go free

• 2,500-Year-Old Tomb of a ‘Warrior Prince’ with Chariot and Helmet Discovered on Italy’s Adriatic Coast - There are a lot of people who clearly aren’t taking my moratorium on opening ancient tombs seriously

• Superstitious Man Slaps Twitching Eye to Ward Off Bad Omen, Suffers Detached Retina - I can’t believe I have to say this, but don’t slap yourself in the eye

• A Marketing Boon For Bail Bonds Business - The man was arrested wearing a t-shirt for the company. I’m not sure that’s a business that would want to brag about their repeat customers

• ‘Time traveler’ claiming to be from the year 3700 issues chilling warning for humanity as he reveals ‘evidence’ of future apocalypse - Might want to go ahead and set your 401(k) to “Aggressive”